ASSESSMENT OF THE BASIC PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS OF ARTIFICIAL FOREST PLANTATIONS OF THE VOLGOGRAD REGION
Fedotova Anna V. - Professor, Doctor of Biological Sciences, chief researcher, head of the laboratory of Forecasting, Bioproductivity of Agroforestry Landscapes, Federal Scientific Center for Agroecology, Integrated Land Reclamation and Protective Forestry of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FSC Agroecology RAS), 400062, Volgograd Universitetskiy Ave., 97, a.v.fedotova@gmail.com
Mitrofanova Anna Dmitrievna - Laboratory assistant-researcher of the Laboratory for Forecasting the bioproductivity of Agroforestry Landscapes, Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “Federal Scientific Center for Agroecology, Integrated Reclamation and Protective Forestry of the Russian Academy of Sciences” (FSC Agroecology RAS),, 400062, Russia, Volgograd, Universitetsky Prospekt, 97,
Timofeev Evgeniy Pavlovich - Laboratory assistant-researcher of the Laboratory for forecasting the bio-productivity of Agroforestry Landscapes, Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “Federal Scientific Center for Agroecology, Integrated Reclamation and Protective Forestry of the Russian Academy of Sciences” (FSC Agroecology RAS), 400062, Russia, Volgograd, Universitetsky Prospekt, 97,
Zotov Egor Sergeevich - laboratory assistant-researcher of the Laboratory for forecasting the bio-productivity of Agroforestry Landscapes, Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “Federal Scientific Center for Agroecology, Integrated Reclamation and Protective Forestry of the Russian Academy of Sciences” (FSC Agroecology RAS), 400062, Russia, Volgograd, Universitetsky Prospekt, 97,
The article studies the physical properties of soils under artificial forest plantations (Scots pine) at the Kamyshin eco-climatic station in the Volgograd region. The objects were the soils of the plots located in the intercrown and subcrown space. The soils are represented by a two-membered profile with buried dark chestnut soil. The presence of a buried profile determines the distribution of basic physical properties with depth. The increase in the values of the studied properties is confined to the beginning of the buried profile of a heavier granulometric composition. In general, soils are characterized by high compaction (more than 1.6 g/cm3) and low moisture (less than 9% along the profile to a depth of 60 cm). Soils in the intercrown space have a higher density and moisture content due to a heavier granulometric composition and the absence of a formed humus horizon. Among the granulometric fractions, the share of physical sand predominates (up to 80%), the share of silt fractions is insignificant (up to 8%). Comparative analysis showed that soils in the intercrown space are less susceptible to the processes of deflation and sandification.
Key words: soil, forest plantations, soil density, soil water permeability, soil moisture, particle size distribution, buried profile
